Giving new meaning to the nickname Papelboner
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I have no idea.
Hat tip to It’s a Fly World. This is the last Red Sox picture I’ll post today. I promise. Someone just tell the Yanks to hurry up and do something down in Tampa today…
All walks, no strikeouts for Ajax
By · CommentsAzFL Peoria (9-1 win over Mesa)
Brett Gardner: 1 for 4, 1 BB – 10 hits & 4 walks in only 6 games (.483 OBP)
HWB Honolulu (2-0 win over North Shore)
Austin Jackson: 0 for 1, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 SB - wow, a game like this was unthinkable for him a year ago
Bradley Suttle: 0 for 4, 1 K – hitting .086
Venezuela Winter League box scores haven’t been posted yet. I’ll try to get an update posted later today (assuming the box scores get posted at some point), but no promises.
VWL Update: (thanks to commentor Yanks26 for the heads up)
Justin Pope: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0-3 GB/FB
Marcos Vechionacci: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB – both walks were intentional…fear the Vech (.455-.618-.818 in his homeland)
Edwar Gonzalez: 0 for 4, 1 K
If you’re bored at work, take a quick scroll through the rosters for some of the VWL teams, some of those names are big time blasts from the pasts.
Shorty McSlappy
By · CommentsYour wish is our command. Submitted for your approval, it’s Shorty McSlappy, the Red Sox second baseman. This photo comes to us courtesy of The Boston Globe. The Red Sox and their fans should never complain about A-Rod‘s 2004 ALCS play again.
ByDustin Pedroia just tried to slap the ball out of Victor Martinez’s hand as he went by on the first play of the game. I kid you not, rewind it on your DVR and check that shit out. It’s a good play though, because he’s a “gamer” and “gritty” and a “Red Sox” and “not A-Rod.”
And for those of you who witnessed Kevin Youkilis reading the lineup, tell me he doesn’t look and sound like someone you’d meet online at 3am. · (38) ·
The results of today’s Tampa meetings
By · CommentsSo it took Yankees beat reporters until 1 p.m. to figure out that the organizational meetings wouldn’t be at Legends Field. It goes hand in hand with what Max Kellerman said about baseball writers today (and I’m paraphrasing): They’re bringing in people with IQs in the 90s, which for them are geniuses. What did the reporters do after they finally figured out that they were in the wrong place? Started stalking, of course. Ed Price on what ensued:
“We’re seeking out all of owner George Steinbrenner‘s usual haunts in the Tampa Bay area, including restaurants and hotels.”
Hey, Ed. If you do that to your ex-girlfriend you’ll end up with a paper requiring you stay 500 feet away at all times.
Anyway, Howard Rubenstein announced the outcome of today’s proceedings, and it’s a doozy. So what’s in the box?
NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! STUPID! YOU’RE SO STOO-PID!
Hopefully at least one of you gets that.
By…is apparently however much they charge for parking at Miami’s Shore Club hotel. And I thought it was simply a case of herpes… · (13) ·
ByWhile the report about Don Mattingly’s supposedly not being ready to manage makes the rounds, Mattingly’s agent sees things a bit differently. Aware that such an equivocal statement from a potential managerial candidate could be career-threatening, Ed Schulte, Mattingly’s agent, said that The Star-Ledger’s report is completely false. Don Mattingly is ready and willing to manage the Yankees. I guess. · (5) ·
Winter ballin’
By · CommentsAzFL Peoria Javelinas (9-3 los to Mesa) don’t worry, JP will be back soon…
Brett Gardner: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB - hit in every game he’s played so far…on base 12 times in 5 games
Juan Miranda: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K – 6 hits (including a double & 2 jacks) & 6 RBI in his last 3 games
Reegie Corona: 0 for 4, 1 K
Steven White: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP – oi
Steven Jackson: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K - 21 of 29 pitches were strikes (72.4%)
Kevin Whelan: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – despite all his control issues this year, dude had 96 K & a .159 BAA in 82.1 IP
HWB Honolulu (4-3 loss to North Shore)
Austin Jackson: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Bradley Suttle: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 E (throwing) - third straight game with a double after going hitless in his first 8 games
Anthony Claggett: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Venezuela Winter League had no games scheduled. The Dominican Winter League season kicks off Wednesday, but the rosters haven’t been announced. I never really followed the league, so I don’t have any idea of what kind of players typically play there. I’m gonna guess that you’ll see names like Jesus Montero, Kelvin DeLeon, Abe Almonte & Jairo Heredia, but again, this is nothing more than a guess.
Update: Now that I think about it, I remember hearing that Robbie Cano hit like, .380 in the DWL last year, so I guess the league does feature both big leaguers and prospects. We’ll find out in 24-hours anywho.
ByIn a piece about the imminent Yankee meetings in Tampa, Ed Price of The Star-Ledger dropped in an interesting tidbit about the recently-fired pitching coach Leo Mazzone. According to a source inside the Yankees’ camp, this week’s discussions will include a bit about Leo Mazzone. The Yanks were interested in Mazzone two years ago, and Mazzone’s manager has indicated that Leo is again interested in working for the Bombers. With a few young pitchers on the horizon, this is a match made in baseball heaven. · (18) ·
Report: Mattingly not ready yet for the managerial post
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As the Joe Torre Job Watch nears some sort of resolution, we’ve got some interesting developments courtesy of Ed Price from The Newark Star-Ledger. According to Price, Don Mattingly has told the Steinbrenner brothers — now in charge of the team — that he is not ready for the Yankees managerial post and does not feel comfortable replacing his current boss and mentor.
Price has more:
The friend, who requested anonymity because the situation is unresolved, said he spoke directly with the former Yankees great in recent days. Mattingly’s stance could open the door for the Yankees to bring back Torre for a 13th season because he was the leading candidate for the job.
The development comes as George Steinbrenner and his sons, Hank and Hal, convene an annual top-to-bottom review of the organization Tuesday. A Yankees official, who speaks often with top management, said Torre is a candidate for the job. The official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak for the owners, said the discussion was expected to center on who is the best man for the job as opposed to a referendum on Torre, whose contract is expiring.
Now, as every Yankee blogger and their uncles are trying to find something, anything, new to write about concerning Joe Torre, this news, if true, is quite the curveball. First, much like we’ve done, the Yankees aren’t discussing Torre’s future in black and white terms. Rather, they are going to figure out which available target is the best man for the job.
In other words, they will try to figure out who can handle up-and-coming young pitchers, who can best deal with the bullpen, who can best placate veterans sticking up for their current manager and who can deal with the scrutiny of managing the Yankees in New York. When all is said and done, can the Yankees braintrust really find someone better than Torre for the job right now? My money’s on no.
At the same time comes the Mattingly bombshell. At the end of the playoffs, it seemed as though Donnie Baseball was gearing up to take the reins from Torre. He was deferential toward Torre, but at the same time, it seemed as though he anticipated being named manager sooner rather than later. I guess those writers speculating as such were reading Mattingly incorrectly.
If Mattingly is hesitant about taking the job — and I think anyone with any sense of the situation would be hesitant to follow up Joe Torre coming off a 94-win season — the Yankees will not give it to him. That hesitancy would automatically make Mattingly the wrong guy for the job right now. This isn’t to say he won’t be the manager; it’s just to say that he won’t be the manager at the end of the day today.
So as the Yankees brass gather in Tampa, we’re really no further along in this saga than we were on Friday. Joe Torre still seems like the best man for the job, and the number one candidate to replace him isn’t quite as interested as everyone figured. Yet.
